The 3-Match series commences on 7th October, Pakistan have retained Shan Masood as their captain for the first match of their three-Test series against England, which begins in Multan on October 7. Aamer Jamal has found a place in their 15-member squad following his return from a back issue, while Khurram Shahzad, who took a six-wicket haul in the second Test against Bangladesh, misses out having failed to fully recover from an injury to his left side.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who didn’t feature in the Bangladesh series, returns to the side as a second frontline spin option alongside Abrar Ahmed. Pakistan have included the left-arm spinner in their squad for the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series against England starting early next month. The 37-year-old Ali, who last played a Test in 2023, replaces injured fast bowler Khurram Shahzad. He has played 15 Test matches for Pakistan, taking 47 wickets at an average of 33.53. In his last Test match for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Ali had taken a career-best haul of 7 for 70.

There was some scrutiny around Masood’s position in the aftermath of the 2-0 home Test series defeat to Bangladesh earlier this month, but he retains the role for now, with Pakistan looking to overturn a run of poor results in the longest format. They have lost each of their last five Test matches, all with Masood in charge, and they are on a 10-match winless streak in home Tests.

One piece of positive news for Pakistan is the return of the fast-bowling allrounder Jamal, their most impressive performer on their 2023-24 tour of Australia. Jamal has been dealing with lower-back issues over recent months, and didn’t take part in the series against Bangladesh. He has since returned to 50-overs action in the Champions Cup. He is deemed fit to play the first Test. Jamal was initially ruled out of the Test series against Bangladesh, but was named in the squad for the second Test although he wasn’t included in the final playing XI.

This is counterbalanced, however, by the absence of Shahzad. He picked up the side injury during the second Test against Bangladesh, and was expected to be fit in time for the England series when a fracture was ruled out, but he hasn’t yet staged a complete recovery.

Top-order batter Kamran Ghulam and fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who were part of the squad for the Bangladesh series, have been left out. A PCB release said both “remain firmly in the selectors’ plans. However, due to the selection policy’s emphasis on consistency and continuity, and the belief that 15 players are sufficient for a Test, they have been advised and encouraged to continue representing their teams in the Champions One-Day Cup and the President’s Cup, starting on 3 October, to ensure they stay match-ready through competitive cricket.” Both though remain part of the plans for the future.

The players selected In the Test squad have been withdrawn from the Champions Cup playoffs to enable them to rest before the start of the England series. The squad will assemble in Multan on September 30, with their pre-series training camp starting on October 1.

Pakistan Squad for First Test Against England
Shan Masood (Capt), Saud Shakeel (Vice-Capt), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), Shaheen Shah Afridi. Khurram Shahzad has not fully recovered from the side injury he picked up during the Bangladesh series.

“With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England,” head coach Jason Gillespie said. We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters.”

Pakistan are eighth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 standings after their series loss to Bangladesh at home. The Shan Masood-led side are under pressure heading into the first Test against England with their last win in a home Test dating back to February 2021. Pakistan haven’t won a home Test match in their last 10 attempts, which includes a 3-0 series loss to England in 2022.

PCB’s Connection Camp
The camp was organised as Pakistan stutter through one of the bleakest periods in their history. The PCB’s much-trailed ‘connection camp’ ended on Monday with what officials said was a roadmap to bring the game out of the doldrums it finds itself in at the moment. Officials and the team management, including both head coaches Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, described a day of open and robust conversations, including about the lack of unity within the national side, with the two national captains, Shan Masood and Babar Azam, and a group of other players.

The camp was organised as Pakistan stutter through one of the bleakest periods in their history, with administrative tumult begetting a succession of disastrous on-field results. Over the last year, Pakistan have lost to Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup, to USA at the T20 World Cup and most recently 2-0 to Bangladesh in a home Test series. Speculation has been rife throughout of growing differences in the dressing room, building from last year but propelled this year by the appointment and swift removal of Shaheen Shah Afridi as Pakistan’s T20I captain, and the return of Babar Azam as the T20I captain. Kirsten, the white-ball coach, is said to have been surprised by the degree of it when he first took up the job. Salman Naseer, the PCB’s chief operating officer, acknowledged that a lack of unity had been part of the discussions, not just within the team but between the board and players.

“The session was about this, that we openly and candidly accept and identify [issues] and ask for a commitment from each other, demand it, on how we can improve our performances and how we work together as a team,” Naseer said at a press conference in Lahore after the camp ended. “Our unanimous view was that we need to resolve this going forward and need to identify how we do it,” Naseer did not go into the details of the discussions, saying that providing a “safe space” was essential in allowing people to open up. But tension between players and the board has also been building, especially after a number of top stars were denied NOCs to participate in leagues over the summer. Afridi, Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah were all prevented from playing in leagues before the start of Pakistan’s home season, with workload management the primary reason cited by the board.

“Where the talk is of unity, it wasn’t only about the team,” Naseer acknowledged. “It was between the team and management and how we can work together to do things more successfully. These were definitely part of the discussions. We talked about planning, we talked about workload management,” he shared and continued, “Everyone is feeling that the performances of players, and management, can be better. The idea was to sit together, identify issues and what can be better. What our vision is and how do we get there?” The camp is not believed to have brought up the more immediate questions facing the Pakistan side, in the immediate aftermath of the loss to Bangladesh and with England’s imminent arrival for a three-Test series in October. But Kirsten, who has been in Pakistan for the last 12 days watching the Champions Cup, struck a note of optimism in praising the depth of talent in Pakistan – in contrast to the chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s recent observations on the same.

“I’ve been here the last 12 days or so watching the Champions Cup and have been really encouraged at the depth of quality of players in this tournament,” Kirsten said and further shared, “It’s been fantastic to see. I’ve really enjoyed the tournament. The quality of the competition has been high. Been great to see a lot of young players showcasing what they are capable of.” The discussions will continue, according to Gillespie, “Because we’re new to the job, our job is to listen and learn and look to implement ways where we can be more effective as players, as a team, and as coaches. What was really clear today was the pride the Pakistan players have in playing for Pakistan and how they want to inspire the country. That was really exciting to hear. The players care and are desperate to do well. We’re on this journey together and we’ll do everything we can to help.”

About the writer
Shahzeb Ali Rizvi is a sports aficionado with a keen eye for the intricacies of cricket and football. He can be reached at [email protected]